Crossrail anger as ‘parking chaos’ overlooked in plans for Langley Station upgrade

RESIDENTS have slammed rail bosses over a lack of parking at a railway station – after it emerged no additional capacity was planned in spite of the Crossrail project arriving in 2019.

Residents at the Langley Forum lamented Network Rail and Transport For London (TfL) on Tuesday over plans for Langley Railway Station.

It transpired that despite upgrades to the station to accommodate Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line in December 2019, the car park would not be made any bigger. Residents say commuters’ cars already spill into their streets, causing parking chaos.

One resident said he was ‘terribly disappointed’ over the lack of provision. He said: “If you build it, they will come – that car park will need to be four times bigger. The parking on our streets is appalling. I’ve lived here for 38 years, and it (the car park) has never been big enough.”

Cheryl Musselwhite, 61, of Talbot Avenue, complained that parking was so tight at the corner of Barton Road she had almost been knocked off her bike by cars due to blind corners.

She said: “I’ve had to walk with my granddaughter in the middle of the road. My sister is disabled, and I had to push her in the road. The way things are going, someone is going to get killed, and it won’t be them (the representatives), it will be one of us.”

Community relations manager for Network Rail, John Goldsmith, told the forum: “We will take these concerns with us, and pass them on to our colleagues.”

Elaine Withers, 62, of Alderbury Road, also criticised the operator after her property was hit by the electrification of the line. She said: “You’ve decimated the bottom of my garden, I had high hedging but now it’s all gone. There’s so much noise it shakes the house when the express trains go by.”

Mr Goldsmith responded: “It was cut down for safety reasons, as they needed to clear it to electrify the railway. Network Rail will need to come and cut that back to a degree.”

Residents had earlier heard how the new line will travel from Langley to Paddington in 24 minutes, and onwards to Canary Wharf in 43 minutes, with two of the new breed of electric trains passing through the station every hour.

Peter Herridge, for TfL, said: “We’ll be putting in a new ticket hall, and will bring interactive travel screens with live information.” A new bridge, complete with three lifts, will also be installed, with works due to be complete in late 2019.

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